Ultraman Tiga Returns In New Ultraman Movie For 2008

Sponichi Annex reports:

Pop singer Hiroshi Nagano (35), the star of ULTRAMAN TIGA will be reprising his role as Daigo, the human form of Ultraman Tiga, in a new feature film produced by Tsuburaya Productions, which will be released in Japanese cinemas, next fall. Nagano last appeared as Daigo in the 2000 film, ULTRAMAN TIGA: THE FINAL ODYSSEY. The ULTRAMAN TIGA television series first debuted on TBS in 1996 ( the series was briefly aired in the US as part of Fox's "Fox Box" children's line up in 2000, and is now available on DVD from Funimation).

"It's been eight years since Daigo transformed into Tiga," commented Nagano at a recent press conference announcing the new film, "I hope that I will be still able to transform properly for the audience, since it's been so long." Other Ultramen who have returned in their later days to transform again, include the original Ultraman, Susumu Kurobe (67), who appeared in last year's ULTRAMAN MOEBIUS & THE ULTRA BROTHERS, as a senior to the new Ultraman. In the 41 year history of the Ultra Series, the oldest actor to first take the role was 27 year old Yusuke Kirishima, who starred in ULTRAMAN NEXUS (2004).

The new film, entitled DECISIVE BATTLE! THE 8 SUPER ULTRA BROTHERS (Daikessen! Cho Urutora Hachi Urutora Kyodai), as you can guess by the title, will feature eight different Ultramen, but who exactly, besides Ultraman Tiga, are not being revealed at this time. An original Ultra Series alumni, Ultraman movie producer, Kiyoshi Suzuki enthusiastically stated, "In recent years, we have pretty much ignored the mythology of the Heisei Ultras, while we have been concentrating on returning to the Ultra Brothers of the Showa Era. Now, we will bring them both together for the first time."

(Article posted on October 17, 2007 [Japan Time], translation by August Ragone.)